Joe Levante (or Lavonte)

Pictures are terrible and seller not returning calls for more info. I'd never heard of this builder but it does look like a nice frame.
I have been told he worked in the Buffalo/Rochester area but quit building due to "liability issues".

Does anybody have any knowledge of this builder? I suspect he was a boutique builder who didn't take off but frame set looks quite nice and SLX isn't shabby stuff






​​​​​​Joe Lavonte Road Frame Columbus SLX Tubing & Lugs Campagnolo drop outs Powder Coated Mint Condition $100.00 B/O

Never heard of Lavonte but “Levant” was a high-end steel track and road builder in Japan.

I'm not knowledgeable about the builder but I question the legitimacy of the tubeset decal. That's a 1988+ SLX decal and the frame looks about a decade older. I don't see any top tube brake cable tunnels. I guess there could be internal routing ports on the opposite side but there also doesn't appear to be any shift lever bosses, so it probably requires brake cable clamps. The absence of both would be strange for even a pre-1988 SLX frame, as SLX was introduced for the 1984 model year. Being Columbus' top tubeset in 1984, these frames typically had a full complement of the latest braze-ons, so their absence plus the lack of a front derailleur hanger, the presence of what appears to be only one set of bottle bosses and even the use of cable routing over the BB, makes me sceptical. The braze-on selection,seems more indicative of very late 1970s.

Fortunately, there's no BB installed, making it easy to verify if it actually is SLX. Be aware that there actually was an SLX style seat tube, a year or two prior to the introduction of the SLX tubset. Consequently, don't assume it's SLX if you seen the helical ridges on the inside of the bottom of the seat tube. Make sure to check the inside, BB ends of the down tube and chainstays too.

T-Mar

Thank you!.

It's an hour plus from my house and now I am a lot less interested in the idea.

I'd asked seller for more detailed questions and no reply. Perhaps seller doesn't want to answer questions....

I've since learned from another frame builder (Jody Lee that the builder's actual name is Joe Levante and he was last in business 15+ years ago.
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